Arkansas TV NEWS

We cover the TV News biz of Little Rock and the Ark-La-Tex(Shreveport,LA) AND Northwest Arkansas TOO!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

KLRT Weekend Anchor Hitting the Road

KLRT/Channel 16/Little Rock anchor/reporter Kelly Dudzik isn't wasting anytime getting out of dodge. Dudzik is reportedly packing up and moving to Buffalo. It is not clear what station she will be working for. Dudzik joined KLRT in June of 2007 from KFBB in Great Falls, Montana. Dudzik was the weekend news anchor at KLRT. She was not included in the layoffs earlier in the week. UPDATE: It has been confirmed Dudzik will be going to WGRZ, the NBC affiliate in Buffalo.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

THV Soon to Receive Graphics Overhaul

KTHV/Channel 11/Little Rock will soon be getting a graphics overhaul. According to Newscast Studio Gannett is in the process of changing the graphics on its 23 tv stations around the country. Several Gannett owned stations have already made the switch. Below is a sample of the graphics. Gannett says it plans to have all stations fully converted by the end of the first quarter of this year.Hat tip TV Spy

UPDATE: ATN has learned the graphic changes will be coming to KTHV either at the end of February or in early March!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

There's a New Player in the AM in The Rock

As reported here first.....KLRT is adding a local morning show to its lineup. Arkansas Business.com reports the morning show will debut Monday. The new program will be hosted by KARK news personalities Deedra Wilson and Greg Dee.

Changes Coming to KLRT Newscasts

Personnel changes arent the only thing happening at KLRT. Arkansas Business.com reports Nexstar is making changes to the station's newscasts. KLRT will no longer have newscasts at 5pm and 10pm. The station will have a half hour newscast at 5:30pm and an hour long newscast at 9pm.

Ax Falls in KLRT/KARK Merger

Arkansas Business.com reports nearly 30 staff members of KLRT and KARK have lost their job. AB.com reports KARK on air personalities Wendy Suares, Adam Rodriguez and Jonathan Athens were let go. From KLRT that list includes sports anchor David Raath and news director Ed Trauschk. AB.com reports the first newscast from the consolidated facilities will air Saturday.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Where Are They Now...

..or in this case, where are they going! Former KATV Reporter Carla Wade is moving on up. TVN Journalism News reports Wade is moving to be Dallas/Fort Worth market to be an anchor/reporter for WFAA. Wade is leaving KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City.

Carla began her career in broadcasting
at the age of 19 at an Oklahoma City radio station where she anchored
the news and was a morning show co-host. This first job opportunity led
her to a two year stint at National Public Radio affiliate KGOU/KROU in
Norman, Oklahoma where she anchored the evening news and reported for
the morning show while enrolled as a full time student.

Carla
worked as a General Assignment Reporter and Morning Anchor at KATV in
Little Rock, Arkansas and as a Weekend Anchor, Producer and Reporter at
KSWO in Lawton, Oklahoma and as General Assignment Reporter at WTVQ, Action News 36, in Lexington, KY.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Arkansas CW Earns Station of the Year Recognition

Source: Press Release The CW Network has awarded its coveted
Station of the Year honor to
The Arkansas CW. The station was singled out among all CW Plus
affiliates for the 2012 distinction based on its collective efforts in
delivering outstanding initiatives in marketing, promotions, community
outreach and sales.

The
CW Plus Network is a group of 109 CW Network affiliates across the
country covering diverse markets comparable in size to the Arkansas CW.
Typically (and as is the case with The Arkansas CW), a CW Plus Network
affiliate operates on
a traditional station’s multicast channel. The prestigious Station of the Year
award is presented once annually to the station delivering the most
exceptional results in its local community. This is the second such
accolade for Hearst Television Inc.,
parent company of The Arkansas CW: in 2009, Orlando’s CW18 (WKCF-TV)
was honored as the CW Network’s
Station of the Year.

“Our
team comes to work every day determined to produce and deliver
exceptional local television” said Arkansas CW President and General
Manager, Brian Sather. “We’re all very humbled and
honored to be considered best of class by our peers across the
country,” added Sather.

The Arkansas CW is one of America’s leading CW affiliates. In November,
Arrow placed the station among the top three CW Affiliates in the
nation. In August, the station launched a local newscast at 9:00 p.m.
and in three short months it was tied for the most watched local news in
the time period with Women 25-54. In June,
the station began broadcasting in HD and currently delivers as many as
17 programs per week in 1080p HD. In May,
Hart of Dixie’s ratings placed it among the top three CW stations
in the country for delivering Women 18-34. With the expansion to local
news, the Arkansas CW continues to demonstrate a commitment to the
community and a dedication to localism.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Former KNWA ND Has Run in With the Law

TV Spy reports former KNWA News Director Scott Pickey ( now ND at WWAY, Wilmington, North Carolina) was arrested Monday for driving a station vehicle through the MLK parade. TV Spy reports police officers would not let WWAY employees leave the station parking lot until after 2pm when the parade had ended. Pickey asked officers several times to allow reporters to leave during long breaks during the parade but told Pickey no. Pickey was arrested when he got into a car and drove out of the parking lot into the parade route. Pickey was news director at KNWA March 2009- December 2007.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Fort Smith Anchor Arrested for DWI

KFSM reports that their very own Ashley Beck was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. KFSM reports an Arkansas State Police trooper stopped Beck on Interstate 40 near Van Buren early Sunday.

Monday, January 14, 2013

LR News Veteran Takes Job at U of A

Arkansas Business.com reports Randy Dixon has been hired to head the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History at the University of Arkansas. Dixon worked at KATV/Channel 7/Little Rock for 31 years. Dixon served as News Director at KATV for 10 years. "Randy Dixon is a walking encyclopedia of Arkansas history, because of
all his years in the news department of Channel 7 in Little Rock,"
former U.S. Sen. David Pryor said in a news release. "We are very
excited that he is taking this position. He will be a great asset to the
center." Dixon began his new job today.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Veteran Shreveport Journalist Passes Away

The Shreveport Times reports longtime Shreveport journalist Jim Montgomery passed away. The article says Montgomery served as a newscaster and reporter for KTBS/Channel 3 in 1968. After leaving Channel 3 Montgomery served as editor of a couple of publications in Shreveport and served as executive director of the Beaird Foundation, the philanthropic and
charitable organization founded by the late Charles T. Beaird,
Shreveport financier, capitalist, philanthropist and former Shreveport
Journal publisher.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

LR Channels Blacked Out on Direct tv in Southwest Arkansas

This from an e-mailer:Have Directv
viewers in Nevada County lost the Little Rock locals. We've previously
been able to watch both Little Rock and Shreveport locals...but as of
today, all the Little Rock Channels say they are blacked out. Mike Ross
worked out the agreement a few years ago with Directv to receive both
local markets. Has that changed since he's not in office any more?

Yep, believe me living in between Shreveport and Little Rock is a curse because of this. Growing up I always loved having the choice of looking at Shreveport or Little Rock network affiliates..but of course I was a subscriber to cable tv. With Direct tv and other little dish operators they see Shreveport as the local DMA and not Little Rock. BUT such a fit was thrown when all the Little Rock stations weren't an option for the little dish customers Mike Ross made some sort of a deal with them. Wonder what it is going on here.

UPDATE: 01.14.2013 Seems the glitch has been fixed. No explanation on what the cause was. Most viewers in Southwest Arkansas prefer getting their news from the Little Rock stations. Too bad the Ark-La-Tex stations don't go after these viewers. The Shreveport stations don't do a good job anymore providing news coverage for Southwest Arkansas. They all at one point had offices/studios and crews in Texarkana.

Monday, January 07, 2013

THV Finally Hires News Director

KTHV/Channel 11/Little Rock has named a new News Director. TV Spy reports Dave Parker joins Channel 11 from WCAU, the NBC affiliate in Philadelphi, PA. Where he served as the assistant news director for ten years. KTHV had been without a News Director since Chuck Maulden left the station in September 2012.

Friday, January 04, 2013

KLRT, KASN Soon to Merge Operations/Facilities With KARK

More and more information is coming out about the completed sale of KLRT and KASN to Mission Broadcasting/Nexstar. As reported here KLRT/KASN General Manager Chuck Spohn was let go. Arkansas Business.com reports the 15 year GM was told of the decision Thursday. KARK GM Mike Vaughn is now in charge of KLRT/KASN. More changes on the way...Arkansas Business.com reports KLRT/KASN and KARK will be under one roof running from one location. Nexstar will not elaborate further.

Stick a Fork in it....The Deal is Done.....

Source: Nexstar Press Release: Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) announced today that
Mission Broadcasting, Inc. (“Mission”), completed the previously
announced acquisition of two television stations in Little Rock, AR from
entities controlled by privately-held Newport Television, LLC
(“Newport”) for $60 million. Simultaneous with the closing of the
transaction, Nexstar entered into an Outsourcing Agreement with Mission
to provide services to the two stations, KLRT and KASN, the FOX and CW
affiliated stations, respectively, in Little Rock.

Perry A.
Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar
Broadcasting Group, Inc., commented, “This transaction is consistent
with our core strategy to expand our operations and pursue financial and
operating synergies to enhance free cash flow. We look forward to
leveraging our knowledge of the Little Rock market, as we provide
services to Mission, for the benefit of viewers of KLRT and KASN while
creating an even stronger marketing platform for local area businesses.

House Cleaning Begins at KLRT

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

New Weekend Anchor Now at the Desk at KATV

KATV officially announced Erin Hawley has joined the team to man the anchor desk on the weekend. Arkansas TV News was first to report the news in November. Hawley comes to Channel 7 from First Coast News/WTLV/WJXX/Jacksonville, Florida. The hiring fills the gap left when Heather Crawford left the station mid2012.

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

KLRT Met Gone South.....

This from a tipster:KLRT/FOX16/Little Rock weekend meteorologist Chad Garneau left the
station on December 26. He sent this tweet out at 8:26 p.m. on that
evening:

"And...that's it. My last newscast at FOX16. Thanks again for the memories." #ARwx

Chad
joined the station during the summer of 2010. Chief meteorologist Jeff
Baskin is the only weather person at FOX16 at the moment. Jeff is
currently anchoring all of the weathercasts.According to his Facebook page, he is now living in Houston, Texas.